Foldable garment with stowage bag

ABSTRACT

A foldable garment with stowage bag is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment a foldable garment with stowage bag comprises a front side connected to a back side by a substantially straight seam. A top portion is connected to both the front side and the back side by a substantially straight seam. A stowage bag is formed on the back side. A user folds the front side over the back side along the substantially straight seam connecting the front side to the back side, and the user further folds the top portion over the front side along the substantially straight seam connecting the top portion to both the front side and the back side to neatly fold the garment into the stowage bag.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The described subject matter relates to garments, and more particularlyto a foldable garment with stowage bag.

BACKGROUND

Garments are available which incorporate stowage means into the garmentitself. However, these garments have one or more drawbacks, as discussedfurther below.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,409 to De Lott discloses a garment that requiresinner and outer walls, and is therefore a large and bulky garment.Stowing the garment according to the methods described by De Lott wouldwrinkle it. In addition, the stowed garment would not readily fit in anautomobile glove box, the back of a motor cycle, or other compartment.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,733 to Chang discloses a garment that has hardsides, making it difficult if not impossible to fit within an automobileglove box, the back of a motor cycle, or other compartment. In addition,the garment would not be comfortable to wear.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,998 to Book discloses a garment that is complicatedand expensive to produce. By way of example, it requires a reverseaction slide (zipper and reversible zipper pull) and cannot be readilyimplemented with other forms of closure (e.g., Velcro®, a single zipper,buttons, snaps, etc.). In addition, it requires two zippers and manyother parts in order to function.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,251 to Hopkins and U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,076 to Tartt,et al. both disclose a garment that is intended to function as a purseor handbag for carrying other items. Accordingly, it has loose baghandles that could potentially get stuck to other items, e.g., whenplaced in an automobile glove box, the back of a motor cycle, or othercompartment.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment of a foldable garment with stowage bag maycomprise a front side connected to a back side by a substantiallystraight seam. A top portion is connected to both the front side and theback side by a substantially straight seam. A stowage bag is formed onthe back side. A user folds the front side over the back side along thesubstantially straight seam connecting the front side to the back side,and the user further folds the top portion over the front side along thesubstantially straight seam connecting the top portion to both the frontside and the back side to neatly fold the garment into the stowage bag.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method may comprise storing a safetyvest within a stowage bag formed in the safety vest itself, andmaintaining substantially flat surfaces of the safety vest with minimalwrinkles during storing of the safety vest within the stowage bag.

Still other embodiments are contemplated, as set forth in more detailbelow with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary garment with stowage bagillustrated as it may be worn by a person.

FIG. 2 is a back view of the exemplary garment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the exemplary garment shown in FIG. 1 as thegarment may be folded for storing in the stowage bag.

FIG. 4 is shows the exemplary garment stored in the stowage bag after itwas folded as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Briefly, a foldable garment with a stowage bag may be incorporated intothe garment itself to help ensure that the garment is available when itis needed. Although the stowage bag is very small, the seams of thegarment enable it to be neatly folded and therefore it is notoverly-wrinkled (or even not wrinkled at all) when removed from thestowage bag.

For purposes of illustration, when the garment is a safety vest that hasbeen folded into integrated the stowage bag, it can readily fit into anautomobile glove box, on the back of a motorcycle (bicycle, etc.), orother compartment (such as a purse or handbag, backpack, etc.) withouttaking up too much space. The safety vest can then be readily removedfrom the stowage bag and unfolded when needed by the user. Having beenneatly folded within the stowage bag, any reflective material on thegarment is preserved as a flat plane and will therefore serve as abetter reflective surface when used as a safety vest.

Although various embodiments are described herein with reference to asafety vest, it is noted that the garment is not so limited. In otherembodiments, the garment may be a shirt, a jacket, or any other garment,for use by people, animals, pets, etc., as will be readily appreciatedby those having ordinary skill in the art after becoming familiar withthe teachings herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary garment 10 with stowage bag12 illustrated as it may be worn by a person 14. In the embodiment shownin FIG. 1, the garment 10 is a safety vest. Although not limited to anyparticular style, the safety vest may be made of a lightweight material(e.g., fabric, plastic, paper, etc.) that readily fits over clothes theperson 14 is wearing.

In addition, the safety vest may include one or more reflectivesurfaces, such as the reflective surfaces 16 a and 16 b shown in FIG. 1.Reflective surfaces 16 a and 16 b may be attached to the garment 10 inany suitable manner, including but not limited to, being sewn or gluedonto the front side 18 a, back side 18 b (FIG. 2), and/or top portion 18c of the garment 10. It is preferably that these reflective surfaces bemaintained wrinkle-free (or at least substantially wrinkle-free) inorder to better maintain the reflective properties of the reflectivesurface 16 a and 16 b. Reflective surfaces that can be attached toclothing are well-known and therefore further description is not neededherein.

In an exemplary embodiment, the stowage bag 12 is formed as part of thegarment 10 itself. That is, the stowage bag 12 is formed on the garment10 by adding a zipper 20 or other closure mechanism (e.g., button(s),snap(s), Velcro® or other hook-and-loop closure) directly to the garment10 without the need to provide additional side walls for the stowage bag12. As such, a portion of the garment 10 serves as the stowage bag 12,reducing manufacturing costs, and reducing the overall size and weightof the garment 10, along with increasing comfort when person 14 wearsthe garment 10.

It is noted that although the stowage bag 12 is shown as it may beformed in the back side 18 a of the garment 10, in other embodiments,the stowage bag 12 may be provided elsewhere on the garment 10. It isalso noted that in other embodiments, the stowage bag 12 may bemanufactured as a separate piece and attached to the garment 10.

FIG. 2 is a back view of the exemplary garment 10 shown in FIG. 1. Whenthe garment 10 is not being worn by person 14 (e.g., as shown in FIG.1), the garment 10 may be folded to fit within the stowage bag 12 forstorage and handling. For example, where the garment 10 is a safetyvest, the safety vest may be folded into the stowage bag 12 and readilyfit within a standard automobile glove compartment (or other storagecompartment in an automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle) withoutconsuming all of the space within the compartment (i.e., other items maystill be stored alongside the stowage bag 12).

Optionally, the stowage bag 12 may include a cover 21. In an exemplaryembodiment, cover 21 may be provided as a flat (e.g., attached to oneside of the garment 10) to hide the stowage bag 12 when the garment 10is being worn by person 14 and/or serve as further protection to thegarment 10 when the garment 10 is folded within the stowage bag 12. Theclosure mechanism may be sewn (or otherwise attached) to the cover 21 tocover the zipper tape or other closure to make it look more refined andfinished. The cover 21 can then be attached (e.g., sewn, glued, etc.) tothe garment 10. Alternatively, the closure mechanism may be permanentlyattached to the garment and then the cover 21 permanently attached tothe closure mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the exemplary garment 10 shown in FIG. 1 asthe garment 10 may be folded for storing in the stowage bag 12. In anexemplary embodiment, the front side 18 b may be folded along asubstantially straight seam 22 a and 22 b between the front side 18 band the back side 18 a. In addition, the top portion 18 c may be foldedonto the front portion 18 b, also along a substantially straight seam 22c.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion of the garment 10(illustrated generally by reference arrow 24) may be folded onto theupper portion of the garment 10 (illustrated generally by referencearrow 26). The stowage bag 12 may then be folded in half and the zipper20 operated to close the stowage bag 12 around the folded garment 10.

It is noted that although the word “seam” is used herein to describe aninterface between two surfaces (e.g., between the back side 18 a andfront side 18 b, and between the top portion 18 c and front side 18 b),the term “seam” should not be strictly construed as only connectingseparate surfaces. For example, the surfaces may be manufactured from asingle piece of fabric, but include a natural fold line. In theexemplary embodiments described herein, the natural fold line may bestraight so as to enhance folding of the garment 10 into the stowage bag12.

Although not required, folding the garment 10 as just describedpreserves the flat planes of reflective surfaces 16 a and 16 b even whenthe garment is folded into the stowage bag 12. Accordingly, the garment10 can be removed from the stowage bag 12 and unfolded such that thegarment 10 and reflective surfaces 16 a and 16 b are wrinkle-free (or atleast substantially wrinkle-free). Accordingly, the reflective surfaces16 a and 16 b maintain a high level of their reflective properties evenafter multiple and/or long term storage in the stowage bag 12.

FIG. 4 is shows the exemplary garment 10 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1)stored in the stowage bag 12 after it was folded as illustrated in FIGS.2 and 3. Although the garment 10 may optionally include additionalpockets, straps, handles, and/or one or more hard sides, it isparticularly advantageous that the stowage bag 12 is configured withoutany additional pockets, straps, or handles, has soft sides, and issubstantially flat. These features enable the stowage bag 12 tocomfortably remain a part of the garment 10 while being worn, and to fitreadily in any of a wide variety of different enclosures. For example,the safety vest may also be configured to fit readily within a standardautomobile glove compartment (or other storage compartment in anautomobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle), purse, handbag, backpack,pocket, or other enclosure.

In addition to the specific embodiments explicitly set forth herein,other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart from consideration of the specification disclosed herein. It isintended that the specification and illustrated embodiments beconsidered as examples only.

1. A foldable garment with stowage bag comprising: a front sideconnected to a back side by a substantially straight seam; a top portionconnected to both the front side and the back side by a substantiallystraight seam; and a stowage bag formed on the back side, wherein a userfolds the front side over the back side along the substantially straightseam connecting the front side to the back side, and the user furtherfolds the top portion over the front side along the substantiallystraight seam connecting the top portion to both the front side and theback side to neatly fold the garment into the stowage bag, the seamsserving as a guide to the user for folding the garment within thestowage bag so that any reflective material on the garment is preservedas a flat plane and therefore serves as a better reflective surface whenused as a safety vest.
 2. The garment of claim 1 wherein a closuremechanism for the storage bag, the closure mechanism being only one ofthe following: Velcro® or other hook-and-loop closure, a single zipper,at least one button, at least one snap.
 3. The garment of claim 1wherein the garment is neatly folded into the stowage bag with minimalwrinkles when the garment is removed from the stowage bag.
 4. Thegarment of claim 1 wherein the garment is a safety vest.
 5. The garmentof claim 4 wherein the garment is neatly folded into the stowage bagwhile preserving a flat reflective plane of the safety vest, wherein theflat reflective plane includes substantially rectangular surfaces whichare parallel to at least one of the seams.
 6. The garment of claim 1wherein the garment stored in the stowage bag fits readily within anautomobile glove compartment while still leaving space in the automobileglove compartment for other items to fit within the automobile glovecompartment.
 7. The garment of claim 1 wherein the stowage bag is sizedto receive only the garment itself.
 8. The garment of claim 1 whereinthe stowage bag is free from any loose handles and straps.
 9. A methodcomprising: storing a safety vest within a stowage bag formed in thesafety vest itself; folding a front side of the safety vest over a backside of the safety vest along a substantially straight seam connectingthe front side to the back side: folding a top portion of the safetyvest over the front side along a substantially straight seam connectingthe top portion to both the front side and the back side to neatly foldthe safety vest into the stowage bag; and maintaining substantially flatsurfaces of the safety vest and reflective material on the safety vestwith minimal wrinkles during storing of the safety vest within thestowage bag, the seams indicating to a user a desired method for foldingthe safety vest.
 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising aligningat least one substantially straight seam between opposite sides of asafety vest when a user folds the safety vest.
 11. The method of claim 9further comprising aligning at least one substantially straight seambetween a top portion of the safety vest and the opposite sides of thesafety vest when the user folds the safety nest.
 12. The method of claim9 further comprising securing the stowage bag shut with only one closuremechanism.
 13. The method of claim 9 further comprising sizing thestowage bag to fit readily within a standard automobile glovecompartment.
 14. The method of claim 9 further comprising sizing thestowage bag to receive only the safety vest itself.
 15. The method ofclaim 9 further comprising providing the stowage bag without any handlesor straps.
 16. A garment system comprising: means for storing a garmentwithin in the garment itself; and means for maintaining substantiallyflat surfaces of the garment with minimal wrinkles when the garment isstored within the garment itself, the means including: guide means forfolding a front side of the garment over a back side of the garmentalong a substantially straight seam connecting the front side to theback side; and guide means for folding a top portion of the garment overthe front side along a substantially straight seam connecting the topportion to both the front side and the back side to neatly fold thegarment into the stowage bag; and wherein substantially flat surfaces ofthe garment and reflective material on the garment are maintained withminimal wrinkles during storing of the garment within the stowage bag,the seams indicating to a user a desired method for folding the garment.17. The garment system of claim 16 further comprising means for aligningthe garment for storage.